Firefighters rescue injured driver from 150-foot fall in Mill Valley

Firefighters and other first responders rescued an injured driver who had plummeted 150 feet down a cliff on Muir Woods Road Saturday afternoon, officials said.

County fire crews had to use chain saws to cut through heavy brush to get to the driver, who plunged off the cliff sometime around 4 p.m., said Battalion Chief Mike Giannini of the Marin County Fire Department. The motorist's injuries weren't life-threatening, Giannini said.

The rescuers secured the driver in a rescue basket, then brought the driver up to the roadway using a rope and pulley system. Paramedic firefighters from the Southern Marin Paramedic System took the motorist to Marin General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Giannini said.

A hiker saw the crash and called the fire department around 4 p.m., Giannini said. The battalion chief said he didn't have any information about the cause of the accident or the driver's identity. He noted that the roadway was wet at the time of the crash.

A number of agencies helped with the rescue effort including the Southern Marin Fire District, Marin County Sheriff's Department, Marin County Search and Rescue Team, Mill Valley Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol.